The Oreo (T.J.'s YJ)

Looks great, just wanted to tell you of my experiences with the 16 inch Moabs.
The tires that you have are load range D for a 3/4 ton truck,,, basically over kill ,,, and with more or heavier plies = a stiffer harsher ride, especially with a smaller size 16 that you now have.

When you get into the 16 inch tires they up the load range to D, E etc.
Your 15 inch tires were most likely load range C and were more forgiving and going to load range D makes a big difference in ride quality.
Cornering will be more predictable with the stiffer side walls but a bit bone jarring at times like on bumps or pot holes.

Just saying from experience that I would try running 28 psi or less in them. I had the Moabs on my TJ, I know how they are compared to the 15 inch load range C tires.
There is nothing wrong with what you have but just be aware of the tire pressure you are running.
Good luck and keep up the good work, your rig is coming along nicely.

Looks good TJ. Sure has come a long way.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input. I'm glad I stuck with the thing because I'll be honest, there were at least three separate times over the last eight months where it was for sale on Craig's List. Plenty of offers but something kept me from pulling the trigger.

Chris, hello! Nice Cherokee, in my time of disdain for the thing I almost traded it for a built 97 Cherokee, but again couldn't let her go. It's funny you mention the blend of modern and classic, because when I first started with the thing I hated how outdated it seemed and tried doing everything I could to modernize it. The squares up front never bothered me, but the bumpers and doors and other little things here and there did. But that has since changed, and I find myself loving the old school feel of the thing. That's part of the reason I sold that Smittybilt bumper from my avatar photo, the other part being I had no money. My friends all start complaining about sensors I've never heard of failing and lights not going out, and I just tell them to buy one of these things because the computer in it barely knows up from down.

I find it funny too that after kicking around for 21 years, only in the latter part of its life is the thing actually being used to its "full potential." The person who owned it before me drove it for three months before the slave cylinder crapped the bed, and he garaged it for six years. The person before him put on those ridiculously off-set tires and had massive speakers, a woofer, and an amp in the thing. That same person also never disconnected the power feed to said amp, so I got a real surprise a few years back when my buddy stood on my back seat at 4 in the morning (where unknown to me the live feed was) and the thing kept shorting out every 10 seconds cutting the power and causing the alternator to make a refreshing dying cow noise until I could get home. The more you know.

Everybody turn on your heaters for me too, because as of now my camping trip is still on unless the current weather report changes. Nothing like some snow, mud, and rocks to test a new lift and tires on.

I should add, no disrespect to people with nice systems in their Jeeps. I just know all the thing did was cruise beach roads because it came from coastal Rhode Island and then made its way to the South Shore in Mass. It screamed beach thumper when it was bought.

Theres nothing wrong with those squares up front.

Yeah, the stiff-wall tires are a totally different beast. (Mine are E-rated, so I have to air down to 10 or 12psi offroad before I really can start wrapping my tires around things). I used to keep my tires at 32psi on-road for gas mileage, despite the *awful* ride it provided. I tried the chalk test, and there was no difference between 32 and 25 with the stiff walls, so I gave up, ha ha. I've lowered it now that I don't DD it anymore.

Totally feel you on the old vs. new growing on you, too.

I used to *hate* my YJs color scheme, and made plans to paint the top and swap out the interior. Over time it, along with all the old charming aspects of it's spartan nature, *really* grow on you. The fact that it's vintage just makes it *awesome*.

It's squared off stance and basic technology just seems old and crotchety, and I *love* that about it.

To me, YJs (and XJs) have always reminded me of this:


While TJs have always, to me, felt like they took their design cues from this:




For every smirk about our articulation and bruised kidneys there's an equal smirk back whenever I hear about death wobble, electronic gremlins, and undercarriage vulnerability.

There's TJs and JKs everywhere you look, but not that many YJs still on the road. There's something special about that, and no matter what improvements in capability and technology newer models might offer and what a crotchety PITA my YJ might be, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Mine are also E-rated, so I'm going to imagine I may end up having to do the same. Luckily for me, one of my buddies that I'm going camping with this weekend has a miniature car jumper that also has an air compressor, built in flood light, and USB charging outlet. It's high on my list of things to invest in.

Would it be a bad thing to leave the Jeep parked for a few days with the tires aired down? We're gonna be heading in probably around 4 pm on Friday and leaving probably around midday on Sunday. In between there I'd like to try some of the more intensive trails that I've never had the ability to hit until now, so the Jeep may be moving during that time. My buddy may be taking his all stock 2009 Liberty with worn street Goodyears on the less challenging trails leading to our campsite also, and he may need to air down as well because of slick conditions with the storm, so the question stands for him as well. I've run those trails not airing down with my old street tires on there, but the biggest obstacles were minor rock climbs and loose ground.

CrawlingForward wrote: There's TJs and JKs everywhere you look, but not that many YJs still on the road. There's something special about that, and no matter what improvements in capability and technology newer models might offer and what a crotchety PITA my YJ might be, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

And since I forgot to address that, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Especially with tires as stiff as yours, definitely not an issue.

You should leave tires aired up when storing for long periods, say winter storage (also should insulate them from the floor in long-term storage) to prevent flat-spots, but for a few days or weeks, it's a non-issue.

That's what conventional wisdom told me, just wanted to make sure. It's been almost a year to the day since me and my buddies went camping, and we all took time off from work and planned around school breaks, so I'm determined to not let this snow stop us. I've wheeled in small amounts of snow before (like the 8 inches that's forecast) so I'm feeling confident about things.

I completely forgot you aren't around here Geoff, and just realized I've been referring to a snowstorm that you may not know any details about haha.

Are you going camping around here?

Staying in state, but heading out to Sunderland right next to Amherst. Myself and a few of the people I'm going with have camped the spot probably three or four times.

My new Daystar bump stops finally arrived on Saturday, so I wasted no time in getting those on, which much like everything else done to thing was a royal pain in the ass. Move over U-bolts, you're no longer the nicest looking things underneath.



My new-new Hella 500 fogs should be arriving later today, so hopefully by next weekend they'll be set up and ready to go. They're replacing the set the idiot mechanics I used to go to broke back in like September. The wiring is already in place, but I need to fab up a bracket to attach them to on my old brush guard that I put back on, or buy a lot of washers. I can't wait to actually be able to see people walking on a sidewalk at night again.

I can't wait to pick everyone's brains about everything Jeep. I am psyched to meet everyone. And the Sox look like they might spank the Yanks on Opening Day. Good times.

Here's a shot of the rear passenger stop, figured I'd throw this one in too only because it required the most amount of work.



Now that it's a little higher off the ground, I've been able to crawl around under there and get a better view of things too. The picture may not show it, but I have to say, the frame is in pretty damn good shape for an old New England Jeep. I'm well versed in the areas where YJs begin to rot away, and she's now 21 years old (my baby's growing up so fast) and not getting any younger, so I check on things more and more.

Fogs showed up yesterday as planned too so hopefully as I mentioned those will be on by the end of the weekend. I'm hoping to get the rocker guards installed in the next few weeks as well. My goal is to have those on for Go Topless Day.

CrawlingForward wrote:
For every smirk about our articulation and bruised kidneys there's an equal smirk back whenever I hear about death wobble, electronic gremlins, and undercarriage vulnerability.

There's TJs and JKs everywhere you look, but not that many YJs still on the road. There's something special about that, and no matter what improvements in capability and technology newer models might offer and what a crotchety PITA my YJ might be, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Very well put. Way to own your jeep man. I was told, by who i shall not reveal , that I should have just gotten a TJ. I have always thought to myself that that would be to easy. Now I will say you are far more ambitious than I am with your YJ. When I heard about that whole throttle body injection I ran far a way.

Well she kind of fell into my lap way back when, but I own up to her wherever I go now. It really is a sickness. I'll be posting another update in like 10 minutes or so.

Picked up my new half door latch today from Lawless in Woburn. For reasons unknown to me, the door stopped latching at the exact same time the slave cylinder shit the bed on me last summer. So not only did I have to bang a U-turn on Route 2 and shift without the clutch, I had to do so while holding my door closed...with a state cop following 15 feet behind me and my girlfriend in the passenger seat looking like she was gonna piss herself. Hopefully this gives you all a brief insight into why it was for sale on Craig's List three times.

Anyway, back to the present. I started by taking the door panel off, which was surprisingly easy. Turns out you don't need to remove the inner door handle to do so. As to be expected, awaiting me was 20 years of dust, dirt, and god knows what else.



After that, I removed two of the screws holding in the weather stripping, and started on removing the screws holding the latch to the door. And of course this is where things went wrong. Two of the bolts came out no problem. Got about a quarter of a turn out of the third one and it stripped like a chick after prom. After about an hour of cuss-laced hammering and shimming, it finally came out, and I got to detaching the linkages.



Got them all detached and the old latch out relatively smoothly. Then I got started with the new latch. The only difficult part was determining which linkages to attach first to make the easiest work of it. Figured that out, got them all attached, and ba-da-bing, latch installed.



And here's a shot of the old and the new side by side.



All that's left is to find a replacement bolt for the one that stripped and the test to make sure the latch works right on the Jeep. I ran out of daylight so that will have to wait until tomorrow night or Saturday morning. All in all pretty straightforward. This is stage one of my TJ uppers on YJ half doors project for those of you keeping track. I will be picking up the TJ upper doors and skins Saturday morning from Crown Auto.

Figured I'd throw this in too. I ran the VIN on the half doors just for shits and giggles since their manufacture date reads 6/93. Confirming what I already knew, the doors are actually from another YJ, which was a 1994 2.5L 5 speed S. Same set up as mine just two years newer, except supposedly the '94 had A/C. My Jeep and I thank you for your sacrifice unnamed donor.

THOOPY3 wrote:So not only did I have to bang a U-turn on Route 2 and shift without the clutch, I had to do so while holding my door closed...with a state cop following 15 feet behind me and my girlfriend in the passenger seat looking like she was gonna piss herself. Hopefully this gives you all a brief insight into why it was for sale on Craig's List three times.

I was literally at my desk trying to stiffle my laughter when I read this.

Nice work, man! Been looking to pick up a set of half-doors myself, actually, although I think I'm leaning towards soft-doors for this particular project.

Yeah it was not fun. I then had to leave the Jeep parked in Orange for two days with the doors bungied shut at a shop that I had never once stopped into until I could rent a trailer to tow it back to Reading. Luckily the dude who ran the place was a nice guy and understood my situation. I tell people outside the Jeep world this story all the time, and they literally think I'm just trying to make myself sound cool and don't believe a word. And you know what, I can't say I blame them. My girlfriend was not pleased because her visit up here (we met at UMass and she lives with her parents in Maryland) was basically spent playing the Jeep version of Operation.

That little incident is what led to my transmission swap, because honestly I think I blew up second gear in the process. I can't confirm this however because I never drove the Jeep again with the old transmission still in it, but the noises were not pleasant. I got a steal of a deal on a rebuilt tranny with bellhousing and transfer case from a 1994 with external slave cylinder (praise the lord) for $350 from a guy swapping a 4.0 and AX15 in his '94. So now when, not if, the slave goes again I should be able to replace it at home and not have to worry about dropping the tranny every time.

CrawlingForward wrote: Nice work, man! Been looking to pick up a set of half-doors myself, actually, although I think I'm leaning towards soft-doors for this particular project.

Are you switching back to your soft top Geoff? I'm gonna be full-time hard top now, and my original plan was actually to pick up a set of full soft doors from a TJ and use them with the hard top. That could be an option if you aren't switching back. I haven't had much luck finding any used ones, and when I do the person wants close to what I'd pay for a brand new set. And honestly I don't want my half doors just collecting dust so I might as well flaunt 'em if I got 'em. If you weren't so far away I'd give you my set of soft half doors for like...$10 haha.

I actually prefer to run soft top, but I run the hard top for winter and when I have no place to store the hard top, like now, ha ha.

Crossing my fingers, though, we're closing in on a house that has a.....multiple....bay garage and.....a large amount....of property (details to be posted if the offer is accepted) so I'll finally have a place to store the hard top and I can just throw the YJ in the garage with just a bikini top on or no top at all!

I didn't even realize you had a set of soft-doors lowers! If you're serious about the half-doors and willing to ship, I'd make you a good offer. I've got a buddy who's a leathersmith and wants to re-skin a pair of lowers for me with a custom design, which I think would be a *really* cool project.

And now that it's just a toy (we got another daily driver, so I *rarely* drive the YJ) I'm not worried about it's weather-sealing ability, since I'll only take it out on nice days in most cases.

Any thoughts on the whole disconnects front? Did you end up trying to get them from Holland's?

I saw your Facebook post about the house offer, best of luck to you.

In terms of the disconnects, after looking at some online I actually think the ones I saw at Holland's weren't disconnects at all, but I haven't actually had a chance to go back and check them out to confirm that.

I won't lie, my soft doors are in slightly-rough shape appearance-wise, but there aren't any tears, they're not bent in any way, and the handles both work fine. I ended up painting them black (from gray) on the outside a few summers back, and used them on a camping/wheeling trip around this time last year. Mud got on the doors, and since we were out in 80 degree weather for four days with no way to wash it off it's been caked on there since. I've tried washing them a few times but nothing doing, and I'm afraid if I was to scrub them the paint might start to wear off. If everything works out well with the hard half doors (fingers crossed) and the TJ uppers I have no qualms parting ways with them.

Like I said, condition isn't really much of a concern, so keep me posted!

Absolutely, I'll have a definitive answer for you hopefully by noon tomorrow.